Fragment Formation at Subnormal Density:. Probing the Nuclear EOS

Nuclear material in highly excited systems expands to low density. If fragment formation in these systems is determined by statistical considerations, then the yield of the various nuclides may be governed by the nuclear equation of state (E-O-S) at subnormal densities. Isotopic scaling can then directly provide information about the E-O-S, and, when used with a well chosen pair of reactions, can specifically probe the symmetry-energy term. In this context predictions of isotope yields have been made using the Expanding-Emitting-Source (EES) model. These studies indicate a low-density dependence of the symmetry-energy which is consistent with ρ^γ, with γ = 0.6 - 0.7